The Victor
by Ms-Figg
Summary: This is a very sad short oneshot covering the death of Severus Snape and the unconsummated love between him and Hermione Granger.  An  angsty, unhappy ending that becomes...well...something else.


The Victor

Severus Snape lay on a cot in the infirmary, Albus and Poppy looking on him sadly as others tended to the wounded. The Final Battle had been won, and Voldemort destroyed by Harry Potter who was assisted by the Potions Master. Before Voldemort succumbed, he cast a hex at Severus that sliced his body open, his intestines spilling out on the ground. Harry did what he could and got the wizard to the infirmary, but there was nothing to be done.

Severus Snape was dying.

Poppy had put his innards back in and sealed him up, but there was dark magic in the hex that would not allow the wizard to heal. He was in no pain however. He was just very, very tired.

"Where is he?" a shrill, panicked voice cried. "Where is the Professor!"

"Here, my dear," Albus called.

In a moment, the privacy curtain was torn open and a wild-eyed Hermione Granger dashed into the room. She ran up to the dying wizard and clasped his pale hand in her own, tears streaming down her face.

"No, Severus," she sobbed, "You can't be dying. You can't be. You promised me…you promised you would be with me always."

Severus opened his dark eyes and looked at the seventh year witch, and he clutched her hand tighter.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. It seems the fates had other plans for me," he said softly, his life force slipping away from him. "You will have to find another wizard to love."

"No!" she cried, burying her face in his chest.

Hermione Granger and her Professor had somehow fallen for each other passionately. The dark wizard had promised after she graduated, that they would be intimate, and she would be his forever. But they never got a chance to be one and now it seemed they never would.

Up to this point, they had kept their attraction a secret, Severus being even snarkier to the witch in public. Only in private moments did he show her an uncharacteristic tenderness. The most they had done was kiss and touch, the wizard hard put not to take her on several occasions when she begged him to relieve her.

"Not yet witch. When you are free of Hogwarts, then I will free you," he'd say silkily and send her back to Gryffindor tower protesting, then taking a cold shower.

Now it didn't matter that the secret was out. Their love would never be consummated.

"I love you, Severus. I want you to be my first and my only," Hermione murmured into his chest. The wizard weakly raised a hand to the back of her head, feeling her soft curls and wishing now that he hadn't had such discipline concerning the young witch.

"Your love is returned, Hermione…but life is what it is. I am not meant for you. I have served my purpose. Voldemort is dead, and I shall soon follow him into the darkness. But you have made my last days on this earth something beautiful and full of hope. You made me happy, Hermione. I had never been happy before you witch, and I go to my death a satisfied wizard," he said weakly. It was getting harder not to sleep.

"No," she said, looking up at him. His eyes were half-lidded and his pupils dilated. He drew a deep ragged breath.

"Promise me you will live, Hermione Granger, live and find love. Live and do great things. I can leave this world in peace if I know you will continue and not pine for me. Please promise me, Hermione," the wizard gasped his silken voice fading.

"I promise, Severus," Hermione sobbed, tears pouring down her face. Albus embraced Poppy who was crying uncontrollably as she watched the young witch with the dying wizard.

"Oh Albus," the medi-witch sobbed. Albus patted her back, his own blue eyes blurred with tears. The Potions Master had come so close to happiness.

Severus gave a shudder and looked at Hermione, his eyes brightening for a moment.

"A kiss?" he whispered, "A kiss before I go…"

Hermione rose and moved to the top of the cot, lowered her head and pressed her lips against his cooling mouth tenderly, moving them gently, feeling the life leave the wizard's body as she did so. She pulled away and stared down on his pale face, those dark, passionate eyes closed in death.

"Goodbye, Severus," she breathed, "You are my only love, for now and forever."

Then the witch collapsed on his body, crying as if she would never, ever stop.

Severus Snape was buried on the grounds of Hogwarts along with his Order of Merlin. It was a very small funeral. Hermione stood silently by his grave, tears falling freely as the casket was lowered. Then she knelt and picked up a handful of earth and threw it into the grave. It landed squarely on his casket.

"Though they put you in the earth, Severus Snape, you will always live in my heart," she whispered. "You will never die in my heart."

* * *

Hermione became a powerful Spells Mistress and created spells to nullify all three Unforgivables in her lifetime. But she never married, never had children. She lived alone but had a full life. At age one hundred and ten, it was discovered she had a wizarding disease similar to cancer. It had been growing in her body for years and there was no way to cure her. She lay in St. Mungos alone. Harry had died the year before, and Hermione had no living kin. The medi-witches looked after her as well as they could, providing up to date magazines about spell making and potions to mollify the witch as she waited to die.

She was so, so tired. Her body ached all over and there was nothing they could do about the pain.

"If only it would end," the witch breathed, "and I could slip into the darkness forever…I would be satisfied."

"Darkness? There is no darkness where you are going, Hermione Granger," a silken voice said to her softly. Hermione looked up and saw something amazing. It was Severus, standing next to her bed, his beautiful black eyes staring down at her soberly.

"Severus?" she asked, believing herself to be dreaming.

"I am very angry with you witch. You kept only half your promise to me. You did great things, but you never married, never lived a full life," he said to her, his eyes narrowing. "You have to be the oldest virgin in existence."

Hermione struggled to sit up but found she was too weak.

"I'm sorry. I tried, but I couldn't find anyone, Severus. I never felt for anyone like I felt for you. I wanted true love…but you took that to the grave with you," the witch said.

Severus shook his head.

"Not to the grave witch, but to the next world. Love never dies," he said softly, extending his hand to Hermione. "Come witch, to my world and yours. We have something to do…it's been overdue for a long, long time," he purred, his dark eyes growing hot.

"But…but I'm so old now, Severus. Surely you can see that," she said sadly.

"Just take my hand, witch," he commanded.

Hermione's wrinkled hand took hold of his strong pale one. It was warm, vibrant and electric. Hermione felt desire shoot through her body and gasped as he drew her up against him, lowering his head and kissing her tenderly. How could he kiss a dried up old woman?

Severus released her mouth.

"Just as beautiful as I remember you," he breathed.

Hermione looked at her hand. It was smooth. She touched her face. It was unlined. She looked back at the bed. The wrinkled body she had occupied for one hundred and ten years lay there, still and relaxed, a peaceful expression on its face. She now looked as she did when Severus died.

"You have shed your mortal coil. This is how you look and how you'll always look, Hermione. Young and beautiful. You've lived a good and selfless life. This is your reward…and you are my reward for my own service to the wizarding world. Love cannot be stopped witch. It can be delayed, but it always reaches its proper conclusion."

The wizard looped his arm in Hermione's. Before them a portal opened, a beautiful golden light shining within. Severus looked down at her.

"Now come. I have quite the lovely little cottage in the afterlife…full of books and better yet, I get the latest editions of Spells and Potions Weekly before they come out. There are labs as well, and ingredients to experiment with that never existed on earth. Oh, and your Mr. Potter is there also," Severus said, his nose wrinkling a bit. "Even Paradise isn't perfect."

Hermione laughed. She couldn't help it. But the witch's heart swelled as she walked with her true love toward the light.

"Oh, and the mattresses on my four-poster? I'm sure you'll find them just...heavenly," the wizard purred down at her, pulling the witch against him a bit tighter.

Hermione smiled and together they stepped through the portal into their eternity.

Death zero…and Love the victor.

THE END

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. 


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